Chavez Threatens To Cut Off U.S. Oil Sales

Combative Venezuelan President Says Exxon Court Battle May Spark An "Economic War"

(AP)  President Hugo Chavez on Sunday threatened to cut off oil sales to the United States in an "economic war" if Exxon Mobil Corp. wins court judgments to seize billions of dollars in Venezuelan assets.

Exxon Mobil has gone after the assets of state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela SA in U.S., British and Dutch courts as it challenges the nationalization of a multibillion dollar oil project by Chavez's government.

A British court has issued an injunction "freezing" as much as $12 billion in assets.

"If you end up freezing (Venezuelan assets) and it harms us, we're going to harm you," Chavez said during his weekly radio and television program, "Hello, President." "Do you know how? We aren't going to send oil to the United States. Take note, Mr. Bush, Mr. Danger."

Chavez has repeatedly threatened to cut off oil shipments to the United States, which is Venezuela's No. 1 client, if Washington tries to oust him. Chavez's warnings on Sunday appeared to extend that threat to attempts by oil companies to challenge his government's nationalization drive through lawsuits.

"I speak to the U.S. empire, because that's the master: continue and you will see that we won't sent one drop of oil to the empire of the United States," Chavez said Sunday.

"The outlaws of Exxon Mobil will never again rob us," Chavez said, accusing the Irving, Texas-based oil company of acting in concert with Washington.

Exxon Mobil spokeswoman Margaret Ross said the company had no comment. A U.S. Embassy spokeswoman in Caracas did not return a call.

Venezuela accounted for about 12 percent of U.S. crude oil imports in November, the latest figures available from the U.S. Energy Department. The 1.23 million barrels a day from Venezuela makes that country the U.S.'s fourth-biggest oil importer behind Canada, Saudi Arabia and Mexico.

Venezuelan Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez has argued that court orders won by Exxon Mobil have "no effect" on the state oil company PDVSA and are merely "transitory measures" while Venezuela presents its case in courts in New York and London.

Exxon Mobil is also taking its claims to international arbitration, disputing the terms it was granted under Chavez's nationalization last year of four heavy oil projects in the Orinoco River basin, one of the world's richest oil deposits.

Other major oil companies including U.S.-based Chevron Corp., France's Total, Britain's BP PLC, and Norway's StatoilHydro ASA have negotiated deals with Venezuela to continue on as minority partners in the Orinoco oil project.

ConocoPhillips and Exxon Mobil, however, balked at the tougher terms and have been in compensation talks with PDVSA.

[ajayvee]

If Chavez will not sell his oil to us, we will invade and take it. We''ll just have to come up with a different 935 lies, that''s all, and Mission Accomplished in less than a month. I don''t think that Chavez with all his big talk really wants to mess with the American Imperial Forces.

[fizzal-2009]

What about the equipment thats rented there with multi year leases, who,s gona pay the rent?

[gce65]

It may be difficult for right wingers to admit, but Chavez was democratically elected to both presidential terms in internationally observed, free and fair elections. His opponents in Venezuela made a huge mistake in boycotting the last presidential elections; it just made it easier for him to win. He has attempted to assert his power further than his people were comfortable with, and they said no to some things. That''s democracy, not a dictatorship.

As far as not selling oil to the US, I suppose that''s Venezuela''s right since it''s their resource. And there are plenty of consumers in South America, Europe, China, India, and elsewhere to make up for it. That would just create an abundance of petroleum in those places and drive prices down for them but up for us.

And demonizing Chavez because he''s threatening to use oil as an economic weapon is the pot calling the kettle black. We use US economic aid as a weapon all the time, not to mention our many illegal CIA plots that have toppled democratically elected governments worldwide in the past. Chavez''s popularity in Venezuela came from the fact that he was seen as a man of the people. His policies have focused more on helping the poor and building South American and Latin American economic and political independence from the US as their overlords.

[speakinup]

"The outlaws of Exxon Mobil will never again rob us," Chavez said.


What does this mental midget call Nationalization without compensation ? I don''t like the big oil companies either, but STEALING is still STEALING, no matter what you call it.


The Venezuela Government was happy enough to let Exxon drill for the oil.


This hugo guy is nothing but a thief!

[rickstas]

Viva Chavez. I love it!!

[rushman71]

Go for it, ya little Toad!
Posted by gunnerv1

Chavez:"Ribit!!!"

[gunnerv1]

Go for it, ya little Toad!

[Syndicate]

Markets don''t work like that. If Chavez wants to hurt us with oil he will have to stop saleing it. Which means he stops making billions. If he sells it to anybody else then he might as well have sold it to us since the over all supply o0f oil will not have changed. I applaud Exxon on their brillant strategy to rcover their stolen assets through international courts. I hope they really stick it to Venezuela. We don''t need to invade Venezuela. We need to let Hugo keep running his country into the ground. Hugo is Americas number one man in Venezuela. By the time he is done with it the Venezulean people will beg us for our help. We have so many alternative fuels and technologies in the pipeline I say let oil hit $500 barrel. Because once we start in with our alternative fuels and such oil will fall to 10 a barrel.

[fishingriver]

Exxon is demonstrating the kind of political power over other nations foreign policy that historically has been the exclusive domain of US government. They are leveraging an international seizure of Venezuela''s money. If Chavez reacts to this by freezing oil bound for the US, Bush will likely threaten military intervention. In fact, I bet he does by tomorrow.
We have 140,000 troops trapped in Iraq while we wait for the mockery of a government we installed to give Exxon and a few buddies the lions share of their nations wealth. Watch what kind of priority Iraq having a "Democracy" is given once Big Oil gets their hands on the crude.
Chavez wanted the people who own the oil to benefit from it. The truth is that Chavez never would have been elected if it hadn''t been for the usual business arrangement orchestrated by the CIA for Big Oil. Preferably, Big Oil would have
a tyrant in power who starved his own people and used the military to keep them from complaining. When a nation is that poor, eating is more important than lessor matters like the environment. But occasionally they rise up and demand what they know they have to have to survive. Chavez was Venezuela''s answer to that. Big Oil has an answer for that. Another war for oil.

[fishingriver]

Exxon is demonstrating the kind of political power over other nations foreign policy that historically has been the exclusive domain of US government. They are leveraging an international seizure of Venezuela''s money. If Chavez reacts to this by freezing oil bound for the US, Bush will likely threaten military intervention. In fact, I bet he does by tomorrow.
We have 140,000 troops trapped in Iraq while we wait for the mockery of a government we installed to give Exxon and a few buddies the lions share of their nations wealth. Watch what kind of priority Iraq having a "Democracy" is given once Big Oil gets their hands on the crude.
Chavez wanted the people who own the oil to benefit from it. The truth is that Chavez never would have been elected if it hadn''t been for the usual business arrangement orchestrated by the CIA for Big Oil. Preferably, Big Oil would have
a tyrant in power who starved his own people and used the military to keep them from complaining. When a nation is that poor, eating is more important than lessor matters like the environment. But occasionally they rise up and demand what they know they have to have to survive. Chavez was Venezuela''s answer to that. Big Oil has an answer for that. Another war for oil.

[gunnerv1]

MC Vet, why, she''s the one who cozyed up to the little pig, she deserves what she gets (and she''s a "flipflopper" too! At first she was for it......

[gunnerv1]

People, do your homework, We get over 90% of our oil from Mexico and Canada. We don''t need this little wart, Danny Glover and Cindy Sheehan (shethead) can have him.

[gunnerv1]

Let him. Where''s the little toad going to get his green backs from then, Cuba? Yeah, right, they can''t even afford to blow their on noses right now.

[watcher269-2009]

Hmmm, Sounds like we need to invade - for national security purposes only of course.

Lets INVADE! After all, its not like the middle east did this to american oil companies before.

I Say Invade before Bush and Cheney leave office.

Or, better yet - declare a state of National Emergency so that Bush and Cheney can postpone the Constitution and stay in power until we get our way.

Yeah, that''s the ticket!

[brianbwb-2009]

For Chavez, he can always sell his oil to China and Russia, he won''t miss the US market as much as the US market will miss his oil.

While it would be uncomfortable to the US, two good things can come of it, one, we are forced to take concrete measures to reduce our dependence on foreign oil, and start deploying alternative energy sources, and two, it is past time for countries to start resisting US hegemony, by resisting the corrupting influence of big money.